RWBY Hunter
by Rexranger1
Summary: Soren's debt required him to heed the call when necessary, and that call came in the form of a message from Cinder Fall. She demanded the capture by any means necessary of Teams RWBY and JNPR, they were to play a pivotal role in her plans. Just what those plans were he had no clue. Sworn to serve by his shackles he agreed nonetheless, and Remnant would no doubt bleed.(AU Post Vol3)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Debt and the Deed

* * *

Soren looked on as the battle raged in the valley below. This was it, their final stand. They either stopped the invasion here, or Remnant would surely be returned to the dark ages. They had managed to contain the outbreak of these dark and vile creatures for the most part, but the onslaught of the massive horde bearing down on the defenders below was proving to be too much. They were the last hope of a dying kingdom, after decades of slowly being pushed back, soldiers like him being trained only to fight to protect what little they had left.

The last commander of the Fallen Legion wore silvered armor from head to toe, a red cape attached to one shoulder, symbolizing his rank. Instead of a helm however, he wore only a grey cowl, covering his black hair and partially covering his pale face, leaving only his storm grey eyes to survey the battlefield. Grey cloth billowed out from under his armor, flapping behind him with his cape in the cold night wind. The moonlight glinted off of the silvery armor, even as he watched the moon shatter into pieces before his very eyes, drops of moon shard crashing down into the battlefield below, impaling both friend and foe, and seeming to give the dark beasts that they were fighting so desperately against more and more power, making them grow before their very eyes.

He knew it wouldn't be enough, that this battle was doomed from the very start. But with the kingdom under siege behind him, its walls crumbling from the meteor shower overhead, he could do nothing more but grip his great sword tightly, pulling out its accompanying dagger from its sheathe at his side. This was a weapon he knew well the familiar feeling of the grip calming him. He had slain hundreds, if not thousands of these creatures they called 'Grimm' with this blade, now imbued with the very moon shards that crashed down to earth around them, exploding into all different colors and types. His blade was blessed by the last of the living priests in his dying kingdom, allowing him to imbue it with the elements of the moon shards that they had gathered.

Even still, Soren could not help but feel all of this was for naught. The fear emitted by these creatures even making his own iron will waver. He breathed out a long sigh, watching as the last of the kingdom's defenders were slowly being pushed back by the monstrosities, which came in all different forms. Birds, pigs, bears, wolves, mythical griffins, horses, monkeys, elephants, snakes, and many others that he couldn't make out from his perch on high. Watching the last of the defenders be cut down, he knew that it was time for his Legion to fight. If they were to die, they would die in battle, and not cowering in their crumbling kingdom walls just waiting for the end. He raised his hand, giving his men the signal they had been waiting for.

Hundreds of soldiers, all with different armaments, from guns to swords and shields. Spears and Javelins to ball and chains. They were adorned in all forms of armors and garb, their one trait in common was dagger they all kept on them, a sign of their membership in the Fallen Legion, and they all integrated it into their fighting styles one way or another. He watched them all rush past him and slide down the side of the hill, surging into the ranks of the defenders, and crashing into the hordes of Grimm in front of them. They worked quickly, cutting down the initial waves they met with ease, but getting slower and slower in their drive with each successive wave that they encountered. Soren watched them engage, sighing softly. From his vantage point on high, he could see thousands more Grimm surging forth, red and purple portals opening and closing to allow more and more Grimm into the valley, where they came from he could not tell, but he knew that so long as the shards kept falling, so would more and more Grimm appear.

The last of his Legionaries, his lieutenant walked up beside him, gripping his marked dagger and gladius in opposite hands. "Now is the time sir, we don't fight now, we may never."

"Indeed Marcus, and that is what scares me, but we have no other choice. On my lead." Soren used the tip of his massive great sword, a meter and a half long, to hoist himself up from his kneeling position. He shouldered his great sword, resting it on his metal shoulder piece, in a groove he had indented for the specific purpose of doing such. After a quick survey of the battlefield, he pressed a button on his blade, channeling the pure flame of the moon shard into his blade, the flames licking off of the metal as he and Marcus began their slide down the hill, meeting up with the remaining forces at the bottom.

Things were far worse than he could have imagined when he reached the very front of their forces. Legionaries and Grimm were intermixed, no solid line could be held any longer, and it was on each fighter's individual skill and cunning to remain alive. Soren and Marcus ran into the fray, weapons at the ready. It took only seconds for the two fighters to be cut off from one another in amongst the sea of black around them.

Soren quickly went to work, digging his dagger into the ground as he ran forward, using it as a pivot to make massive, sweeping arcs with his fire imbued blade. He moved like a dancer in the waves of Grimm around him, those that drew too close were met with a swift death by the fiery arc of his blade. Beowolves burned to dust, Ursai shied away from the spinning death, and even the largest of scorpions had their protective shells shattered as Soren fought through their ranks with as much fervor as a hundred men. He seemed untouchable as he fought, his presence seeming to inspire the last of the weary fighters and Legionaries, their moral returning, and strength found anew, as a thick silvery mist seemed to emit from Soren's very being.

The movement of the beasts seemed to slow, and the fighters seemed to quicken in the mist, the tides of battle finally turning as one of the few users of aura in their midst allowed his influence to spread over the battlefield. Strong and lithe, Soren lead the charge into the largest of the Grimm that he could find, massive Ursai, towering Goliaths, and menacing Taijitu awaiting his charge. His adrenaline and sense of duty overpowering his fear of the massive beasts, and his sword never faltering, even as the last of the flames fizzled out, as more and more Grimm surged around him, he kept swinging.

It was not to last however, minutes passed by like hours, and the rapidly dwindling number of fighters tired. With each fighter that fell, the battlefield got ever quieter, the Grimm turning their sights on the nearest fighter that was isolated, and for each Grimm that was slain, two more seemed to take its place. The cries of the fallen could be heard, amidst the gnashing of teeth and howls of the Grimm. Soon enough, only Soren and Marcus stood their ground, the two finding each other in the mayhem. They stood back to back, Soren's blade letting the last of his embers flicker and die, his blade dulling from a faint slivery hue of moon shard, to a desolate grey. Marcus fared no better, the electricity of his gladius fizzling out finally. "This is our last stand Marcus, may those above watch over us, even though we have failed in our duty."

"Maybe so, but I would rather die in battle than in my sleep, or cowering in some room in the city, praying these things didn't find me. It was an honor to serve sir."

"On that we can agree. I only hope that some shred of humanity can survive to fight another day, succeed where we failed." Soren replied, hacking a Beowolf away as the remaining horde drew in closer, his empowering mist fading.

"Agreed, may some deity have mercy on their souls." Marcus said, gritting his teeth as an Ursa bore down on him.

It wasn't long before the two of them fell, the horde overpowering them after only a few seconds longer of fighting. Soren breathed his final breaths under his cowl, living only slightly longer after his loyal lieutenant fell. He had failed, his kingdom would crumble, the people and world he had sworn to protect had fallen, he could only hope that some shreds of humanity would eventually rebuild the world that he had failed to defend. No doubt they would be sent back to the dark ages, to a time he wished they would never have to experience again. With the last thoughts of his failure on his mind, the young commander of the Fallen Legion, now fulfilling its name in full, took his final breath, and moved no more.

The battlefield got eerily quiet afterwards, the Grimm leaving the bodies of the fallen where they were slain, sensing the fear of tens of thousands inside the crumbling walls of the kingdom beyond. The moon shards stopped raining down in the battlefield, and all was silent. The bodies of the slain lay motionless.

Through the battlefield walked a woman, her skin a pale white, and wearing clothes as black as the beasts who had slain the warriors. Her eyes were red with hatred, and black in the sclera, red lines dribbling down her cheeks like blood. They pulsed with her movements, as she surveyed the devastation around her. The battlefield seemed even colder in her presence.

"Hmmm. It seems they managed to delay long enough for some of their sniveling kind to escape. A shame too, it will be a long time before I can summon this many again. However," The woman looked over the battlefield, spotting the one who had given her beasts the most trouble. She treaded over to Soren's body, all life in the immediate vicinity seemed to wilt around her. She knelt down and looked at the body of the once proud warrior, surveying his weapon of choice, as well as his attire. "Ah yes, the last hope of humanity, you gave me quite the fright for a moment, it looked like you could have singlehandedly turned the tides of the battle to preserve your race. And while you did fight admirably, I must admit, you only succeeded in delaying your demise for a few hundred years, turning back the clock so to speak, and _that_ is a major thorn in my side." She spoke to the body.

However, when I have resurged my power in several hundred years, you might be just the keystone I need to help my next set of pawns go about making all of this occur again, but instead of hindering my progress, you might help it, what do you say? A small price to pay for your life, and when the rest of humanity is wiped off the face of the planet, I might even raise the rest of your legion to walk the earth with you, my Grimm subjects bowing to your feet. How does that sound dear? All I need is for you to pledge your allegiance to me." She continued talking to the body of Soren, as if it was living. "Excellent, I knew you would see the 'light'." She cackled a bit at her irony.

Suddenly she stopped, putting a hand out and letting a black and white swirl pour fourth, the mystical energy combined into a dull grey, washing over Soren's body. It filled his entire being, closing his wounds, sealing the rips in his armor, and imbuing his sword with the dull moonlight glow that it had lost once again. The grey faded as the last of it seeped into his body.

After a moment, Soren twitched, a flicker of life present in his body. A moment later, the fallen warrior slowly rose. He used his great sword as a crutch, gripping his curved dagger in his left hand. His attire seemed to visibly change with the new presence in his body. The silvering of his blade and armor now faded away, leaving behind a dull grey instead. His cape darkened several shades, tatters of battle heavily defined throughout it. His cowl was largely the same, still covering his pale face and dark hair, leaving only his now cold and lifeless eyes to bear. A flicker of light flashed in them, before fading away, as if the spirit of the person he once was, was cast into the depths of his mind.

The woman sneered, seeing her work fulfilled. "Now, who are you, my new assassin?"

Soren looked at her for a moment, before responding calmly, coldly. "My name is Soren Gra." Soren knelt down on one knee, planting his great sword into the ground, and holding the handle with one hand. His other hand still held his dagger, gripping it and placing it over his heart. He bowed his head reverently to his new master. "And I am whatever you wish me to be."

The woman clapped her hands excitedly, but slowly. "Excellent. Soren, I am your master, your Queen, Salem. You will do whatever it is that my pawns request of you in the coming ages. Your very being lives to serve me and my lesser pawns. Is that clear?"

"Yes… my Queen." He said, still keeping his head bowed.

"Wonderful." Salem said, her voice filled with maniacal glee. "Now, your spirit has been empowered with a gift, and your weapon attuned to be much more lethal. I have given you the name that you will take for your weapon now that you serve the winning side. You will use it to cleanse this world of all that would stand against me. Rise, and tell me the name of your weapon."

Soren did as demanded of him, rising slowly, and lifting his sword to the night. The moonlight glimmered off the dull blade ever so slightly, but seemed to be absorbed by the blade as well. "This…is Purgatio Nocte…Cleansing Night." He said solemnly.

"Perfect. You will do nicely. Cleanse the world, one cut at a time. As my last gift, your weapon has been changed ever so slightly. You will have the power to transform it, in order to fulfill a far greater variety of tasks than you were before. You will have access to my own personal armory, in my realm, to re-forge your weapon to even greater heights." She offers a hand to him. "Now come, you will be held in my realm until the time is right, and as promised…" The Legionaries around him crystallized, sinking into the earth. "When your debt has been repaid, you will have your brothers in arms once more."

"Yes, my Queen. I am at your command. I look forward to the day I serve you once more." Soren said.

"Good." Her grin widened as he took her hand. A red and purple portal opened up behind her, enveloping her and the fallen warrior. After a moment, they disappeared from existence.

* * *

Soren passed through the allies of downtown Vale, surveying the devastation around him. Buildings were crumbling, the streets a mess, and scared people around every corner. It had been several days since he had been able to witness firsthand the fall of the once proud school of Beacon academy, his Queen's plan falling into place it seemed.

Now, after several days of surveying the city, he received a message, likely the last one he would receive for a while, if the rumors about the CCT were true. It was a short message in length, from his Queen's benefactor, someone she had recruited to her cause. Her name was Cinder Fall. Apparently from what his Queen told him, Miss Fall's plan had hit a slight hitch in the road, when some little girl from the school had severely injured him with a power she had not considered to even exist any longer, a sordid mistake that nearly cost her life. Thankfully, he was now finally active, after resting for thousands of years in the realm of his Queen, yet he hadn't aged a day.

The message was simple: "Capture these individuals by _any_ means necessary, they are essential in the next phase of the plan. When you capture them, bring them to the place where you met the queen." Sounds simple enough, he pulled the files off of the message and onto his scroll, another addition he had gained from his reemergence into the world.

The connection died a moment later. The signal weakened to a point were even scroll to scroll would be a difficulty. He opened the first file: Ruby Rose. "Ah, this is the girl that put Cinder in her current state, I'll have to watch out for her." He looked closer at the file, reading it over carefully. 'Scythe wielder/Sniper rifle user, capable of high velocities with her semblance. Leader of Team RWBY. Notable Relations: Tai Yang Xiao Long; Father. Yang Xiao Long; Sister. Qrow Branwen; Uncle. Summer Rose; Mother.' He stopped for a minute on Summer Rose, chuckling quietly. He remembered the first time he was awoken, years and years ago. He thought the face of the girl looked familiar to him. "Well, well. Like mother like daughter it seems. Let's hope she puts up a better fight than her mother did."

He opened the next file. 'Weiss Schnee: Heiress of Schnee Dust Company. Rapier user, adept at dust and glyph manipulation. Notable Relations: Winter Schnee; sister. Schnee corporation.' "Ah, looks like we have a high roller here, no doubt she will be well protected by the family. I'll have to plan properly for her, thankfully her location couldn't be more predictable, no doubt her father has taken her back to their household, which should be an eyesore to all in Atlas." He muttered.

He opened the next file. 'Blake Belladonna: Former member of the White Fang. Cleaver that splits into two portions. Katana portion has a pistol built in, ribbon attached to the end, allowing the weapon to be used as a kusarigama. Highly elusive, semblance allows for clones of herself to take blows and deceive enemies. Faunus born. Notable Relations: Adam Taurus (Former).' "Hmmm, formerly associated with Taurus eh, one of Cinders own. Interesting indeed. She would've been a cunning ally. A shame, she will have to be captured like the rest. Elusive though, it might take a while for me to track her down. I'll save her for last." He closed her file, opening the next.

'Yang Xiao Long: Sister of Ruby Rose. Gauntlet user. Semblance allows her to go into a raged frenzy, granting her super strength and a fiery aura around her. Currently dismembered by Adam Taurus, right arm cut off at the elbow. Notable Relations: Tai Yang Xiao Long; Father. Qrow Branwen; Uncle. Raven Branwen; Mother (Missing). Ruby Rose; sister.' "Lost an arm eh? Easy prey. She goes down first, shouldn't be too hard to find." He swiped her profile to the background, pulling up the next one.

'Jaune Arc: Leader of team JNPR. Sword and Shield user. Semblance unknown. Traveling with his remaining teammates and Ruby Rose. What he lacks in raw fighting skills he makes up for in tactical cunning and battlefield awareness. Works best in a group.' "Hmm, shorter than the others. However, isolating him will make him far easier to take down, and no doubt the others in his little group will be far weaker with him out of the picture. I'll put him on mid priority, get him after I get some of the separated ones." Soren closed the file on Jaune, opening the last one.

"Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren: Close Friends, team JNPR. Former uses a hammer that converts to a grenade launcher, the latter utilizes twin submachine guns with blades attached to the bottoms. Ability to channel electric currents to muscles and use it as an outward force with her hammer. The latter has the ability to make barriers out of his aura. The two are nearly inseparable.' "Dynamic duo huh? Might be a tough pair to beat, but nothing I can't handle." Soren said confidently. He closed the last file, pausing to think for a moment. Why did Cinder need these 7 individuals? He could understand the Ruby girl, from a revenge standpoint, but the others just seemed like extra baggage.

He shook his head slightly. No, it wasn't his place to question. He just needed to do his work, and get what he sought back. The Queen and her assistant needed this done for a reason, and whatever it was he wouldn't question. He had no reason to ever question them before, why now?

He smirked. This would be an easy set of hunts, so long as he prepared and scouted out each target properly. In just a few short weeks he could have the one thing he desired back, his Legion. His power would grow and he could walk the earth in triumph once more. But… why did it feel wrong to him? Was this not what his purpose was? He could think about it later. For now, he had a debt to pay, and a deed to perform. Nothing would stop him from achieving his victory.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello and welcome to my second Fic here on FFNet. This one is going to be a lot shorter than my other fic, Twin Shadows (Which this is not replacing, but being uploaded in tandem with), is planned to be. If you haven't checked that one out than seriously feel free to go to my profile page and check it out there. I hope that this Fic ends up being as good as i planned on it being, and while this pilot chapter is a bit shorter, the others should be much longer. But as I say with all my chapters let me know what you think in a review, and what i can do to improve, and have a great week.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fallen Firecracker

Chapter 2: The Fallen Firecracker

* * *

The bullhead touched down on the far side of the island of Patch, an island just off the western coast of Vale. It had been easy enough to locate the island, as well as get a general idea of the location of his first target's whereabouts on the island. The problem would come with finding exactly where he needed to go to find her.

Soren opened up his scroll quickly, looking over Yang Xiao Log's profile once again. Seeing as she was reported to be missing an arm, and likely in low spirits after being defeated so badly, this should be a simple capture. However, he couldn't help but keep wary of her semblance, some form of super strength that got stronger with each blow. There was no way he would win if he let her elevate to her full power and get close, thankfully, he likely wouldn't need to.

He held up a large metal slug between two fingers, more than large enough to fracture an arm if planted in the wrong spot. Thankfully, his only intent for this armament was in the thigh, or the gut, prime locations for it to distribute its paralyzing payload upon impact. This was something so dark, even he shuddered a bit thinking about its effects.

He stowed it in a pouch on his belt, along with the other munitions of that nature, not interested in thinking about the sinister payload of those rounds. He had a mission to focus on, and his target came first.

Unfortunately for him, because the CCT was still down, he was going to be forced to hunt her down on foot. No GPS, no prior knowledge of the area, just a general idea of what he was looking for, who he was looking for, and a relatively small island to meticulously search over.

On top of it all, as the bullhead wound down and opened the side panel door in front of him, it was pouring. He let out a sigh, and pull his cowl firmly over his head and face, dropping out of the bullhead and into the dreary night.

* * *

Weapon in hand, the dull grey great-sword glimmered ever so slightly in the weak moonlight that escaped through the thick tree cover every so often. He trudged through the muddy sludge on the ground, coating his boots in a thick grime. The rain made his outerwear stick to his partially concealed dull grey armor, his cloak dragging heavily behind him.

He walked and wandered in the swamped forest for what felt like hours to him. He searched and searched, finding only a few stray cabins and a small village, but none of them netted him any leeway on finding his target.

Finally, he rose over the top of a hill, and peered down into a small flat valley on the other side. There, a cabin with its lights still on rested down below. He gave a small sigh, likely another dead end, but like the others, he decided to check anyways. He planted his sword on the ground, laying it on its edge like it was a gun. As he laid down behind hit, he flicked a small trigger hidden under the hilt, and the blade cracked open in several places, falling to either side to reveal a long barrel and scope. The hilt bent downwards, and locked in place. The trigger now opening up more and snapped into place as well. A small stock shot out of the opening the hilt left, and rested against his shoulder easily. He pulled it firmly against him, resting one hand under the newly appeared barrel, and tilted his head to the side to look through the scope of the hidden rifle.

There were two windows on this side of the cabin, both with lights on. Through the first window, he could only see a blonde haired man who seemed to be finishing up preparing dinner, a late one at that. The black vest, brown shorts, and the red neckerchief tied to his arm gave him a bit more of a rugged appearance to be sure. The features seemed familiar to him, and he followed the man with his scope as he carried the tray of food away from the window, and out of sight.

He cursed under his breath, quickly darting over to the other lit window. He froze immediately, realizing his target had been waiting in the other lit room the whole time. The blonde haired man, who could now only be Taiyang Zhao Long, walked in with the food tray, setting it on the dresser away from his target. He then sat down on the bed next to her, talking to her.

A father daughter moment, how touching. It made him stop for a moment, thinking. Was he really going to capture a teenager with near lethal force, just to bring her back to that facility as instructed? He didn't even know why they needed her, or any of the others.

A dark gnashing bit at the back of his mind, suppressing his empathetic thoughts. Of course he was. This was his job, what he was instructed to do. This was how he was going to get his reward, his people, how he was going to appease _her_. If a few kids had to be captured to resurrect thousands, then so be it. Their sacrifice was well worth it to him.

He briefly released the trigger, moving his right hand down to his belt pouch, and pulled out one of the metal slugs. He chambered it into the rifle with a loud snap, which was suppressed by the pounding of the rain around him. They had no idea he was even here, and he had a plan that would render the both of them useless, but he would have to act quickly when he took the shot.

He peered back through the scope, which had only slightly blurred from the rain pounding down on and around him. He zeroed in on Yang, aiming for her thigh through the bed sheets. He had no idea what condition his targets were to be in upon return, so he assumed as good as possible, no risky body shots, especially with a round as large as this.

He watched her sit there, frowning slightly. She looked so broken to him, but he couldn't let that persuade him from not taking the shot. "Sorry girl, but I've got my own problems. And you are the only way to solve them." He muttered quietly. He waited for Taiyang to stand up and turn his back, walking over to the dresser to get the food. That was when Soren slowed his breathing, took a deep breath, locked a bead on Yang's thigh, and took the shot.

* * *

Yang sat quietly on her bed, looking through a small picture book. It was special to her, pictures of her friends, long gone now. Weiss in her grace, Blake in her quiet seclusion, but always hanging around, and most of all, Ruby. Her sister who had left, left her all alone to think quietly in her solace. She regretted telling her to go off and do whatever, that left her with no one.

She set the book down on the nightstand next to her, and stared at the ceiling in her misery. The door opened up, and in walked her father, Taiyang. He had a bowl of soup, some bread, and some milk for her. She barely looked up when he set them down however. "Hey dad…." She said quietly.

"Yang. Feeling down again?" He asked kindly, walking over and sitting on the bed next to her.

"You could say that…" She mumbled.

"Sit up, talk to me about it. What's on your mind today? I want to help." Taiyang said warmly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"The usual…" She grumbled, finally sitting up and resting her back against the headboard with some contrived effort. "I miss Ruby…"

Tai gave a sad smile. "I do to. But at least she has Qrow watching out for her, even though she may not know it. But… I get the feeling. I wish she had stuck around too. Although she's reminding me that she's coming into her own every day, growing up, doing things on her own. She's not as much of a kid as we both still think of her. And above all, she's taking matters into her own hands, even though I would rather she not get into more danger than I know she can handle…" He muttered the last sentence out quietly.

"Yeah… I just… I was so used to having her to fall back to whenever I needed my own comfort. Comforting her always helped comfort me, but now I don't have that…" Yang said quietly.

"She'll come home, eventually. I know she will." Tai said halfheartedly, almost like he didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"I hope so… I miss her… and Weiss… and Blake… all of them." Yang said, not noticing Tai's internal stress.

"Yeah… all of your friends are a bit scattered… we just have to hope for the best." Tai shook his head a bit, getting himself out of his haze. He hopped up quickly, turning around and heading for the food tray on the dresser. "But for now, we need to get you back to full strength. I've got a warm meal for you on this cold rainy night!"

The only response was the shattering of glass, and Yang letting out a high pitched shriek in agony, causing him to whirl around and catch sight of his eldest daughter clutching her thigh, a large metal slug protruding out of it. Her aura began working immediately, pushing the slug back out and sealing shut in only a few moments. He rushed over to Yang and pulled her off of the bed and down to the floor, away from the window.

"Yang! What happened?! Did you get hit anywhere else?!" He shouted to her in his panic.

"I… I don't think so…" She croaked out, suppressing her sobs.

He looked up carefully over the bed, looking to see if he could see anyone outside. Unfortunately for him, it was far to dark and rainy to see anything, and suddenly a thick grey mist was rolling in, everything outside being engulfed in it. This was bad. On top of everything else, he noticed the metal slug on the bed, slightly stained red. It was smoldering, the tip of it seemed to have opened, the inside hollow… or at least… was now hollow. Then he came to the realization, and looked down at Yang, who was still holding her leg.

The shot wasn't intended to kill, at least not right away. But now something was injected into his daughter, and he was helpless to stop whatever it was. "Yang, sweetie, are you ok, do you feel different?!" he asked in haste.

"I… I can't feel anything… everything is getting harder to move…" She mumbled, her words starting to slur.

His eyes widened. He could see his daughter start to slow her movements. The round was filled with some form of paralyzer. Someone wanted his daughter, and that was something he would not stand idly by for. "Don't make a sound, I will be right back." He said quietly, slowly rising up and making his way out of the room. The mist began slowly seeping into the house through the hole in the window as he left.

* * *

Soren heard the high pitched scream even from where he was on the hillside. It was filled with enough pain for even him to twitch slightly after hearing the sound. But he was on a time limit, every second he wasted was another second they had to react and flee, and he couldn't let that happen. He quickly stood up, mud and rain running down the front and sides of his drenched form. He picked up the rifle and it snapped shut, transforming back into his massive great-sword once again. He turned it over, pointing the tip straight at the ground, then plunged it in. All around him, a grey mist began to form. It slowly expanded, running down the hill and engulfing the small house in its entirety, as well as the forest surrounding it.

When he figured he had emitted enough of his semblance, be pulled his sword back off the ground, and rested it on his right shoulder. He pulled out his accompanying dagger, holding it in his off hand, and began making his way down the hillside.

When he reached the bottom, he had faded into a darker shade of grey than the mist around him, almost masking him entirely. He figured he had around 2 minutes before the paralysis kicked in fully on the girl, once that happened, there was just the matter of her father to deal with.

He approached the door, testing to see if it was locked, and of course it was. He jammed the dagger in between the thick oaken door and the doorframe. He used the dagger as a lever, bending and eventually snapping the lock from the side after several attempts. The door creaked open, letting the mist into the house quicker. Soren proceeded into the main room of the house, where he had seen Taiyang at first. His eyes darted around the room, spotting no one. He slung the blade onto his back, it would be of no use to him inside, he would just have to rely on the dagger and the cloaking of his miasma that had set in.

He walked unusually lightly down the hallway, proceeding with caution. He moved with steps far too light for someone as armored as he was, and carrying a sword as large as he was. It wasn't until he could make out a figure at the end of the rapidly filling hallway did he freeze. His hand gripped his dagger tightly, he stared at the figure down the hallway. He could just make out the short blonde hair and dark vest.

"Get. Away. From my daughter." Taiyang said with malice thick in his voice. He raised an arm, and Soren's eyes widened as he saw a beam of bright golden light fire out of a pistol in Taiyang's hand. He rolled out of the way, into a nearby bedroom. The beam of light just barely grazed off of his shoulder, leaving burning embers on his shoulder, and scorching the metal of his shoulder plate.

"Sunlight pistols… that's a new one." Soren muttered, stacking up against the edge of the door, dagger in hand. He peeked out of the doorway, but pulled back just as fast. Another ray of scorching heat shot by him, mere inches from his face. Despite the mist filling the house slowly, he noticed the rays of light pushed the mist back. But if he didn't give him reason to fire…

Soren planted himself squarely against the door. The mist began rising again, thickening more and more in both the room and the hallway. After a few moments, it was practically a solid cloud of grey. Soren already had his route planned out. With the thickened mist, Taiyang wouldn't be able to react until it was far too late to do so.

He rushed out of the door, keeping himself as low as he could. Taiyang came into view in front of him a moment later, just a few feet in front of him. Taiyang tried to react, but his shot went wide as Soren crashed into him, the disorienting mist had bought him more than enough time to collapse on the older man.

He smacked the gun out of his hand, and put the dagger to Taiyang's throat. He looked down at the man, his face barely visible in the grey mist.

Taiyang laid there frozen, defeated. Both hands rested at his sides, not daring to move them. "L-look. We can come to some agreement… why… why do you want Yang?!" He asked in desperation, trying to stall for time to think of something.

"My employer wants her. Not me. As for an agreement, a take her and go. That's my only option, and that's your only option as well." Soren said, pulling the dagger back and flipping it around. He quickly hit Taiyang on the side of the head with the hilt of the dagger, knocking him out instantly. He stood up and looked down at him. "I don't have any choice." He twitched slightly, eyes darkening. "But I have a queen to appease, and a contract to uphold." He stepped over Taiyang, and walked around to the opposite side of the bed.

He looked down at the blonde haired girl at his feet. She was completely stuck in place, only her eyes moving and following him. He kneeled down and stowed the dagger on his hip. With some strength, he lifted Yang up using both hands. She was almost as stiff as a board, slightly curled up however.

The paralysis ran deep, leaving her unable to struggle or speak. Soren held her with both hands, carrying her out of the house. The mist finally began fading as he stepped outside and into the dreary night.

* * *

The bullhead touched down in a valley that felt oddly familiar to Soren. The green grass and old trees at the edges of the valley showing no signs of the battle that was fought here over a millennium ago. The side of the bullhead opened, and Soren stepped out, much drier than the night before. In tow he had Yang Xiao Long, the paralysis had finally worn off, and forced him to bind her legs and arm. He still felt a few pangs in his side of when she had tried to break free on the flight to this facility.

He carried her firmly along the path down to the large building in the middle of the valley. The crisp morning air and sunlight shining down from behind him, and into the valley below, was a welcome change from the weather of last night.

Yang had given up struggling, lulling back into the broken state she had been in before. This was something Soren welcomed greatly, her agitated struggles had been difficult enough to deal with on the bullhead.

He approached the door of the facility, the massive iron doors slowly beginning to slide open as he approached them. They kept opening as he stepped through, and he passed by rows and rows of metal tubes.

They pained him to pass by, each one reminding him of his failure, and his duty. At the end of the rows on rows of tubes, Cinder Fall stood with hands behind her back, a sinister smile on her face. "Ah, I see you were successful, wonderful!" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Soren could see that she was several shades paler than he last remembered seeing her, likely effects from whatever had happened at Beacon. He stopped a few paces in front of her, laying Yang down on a wheeled table between the two of them. "Yang Xiao Long, delivered as requested." Soren said solemnly.

"And excellent work you have done indeed, sweet Soren." Cinder walked forward, her heels clicking dangerously on the metal floor. He red dress seemed to catch fire in the morning sunlight that was twinkling him behind him. This made for an intimidating appearance, especially for one as beautiful as Cinder Fall. He didn't move a muscle and she walked around the table, looking Yang over briefly, before sauntering over to him. She cupped his cheek in one hand.

"I appreciate the effort you went through dear, that's one down, 6 to go." She said with a smile, her eyes igniting briefly. "I do hope you can do as well at capturing them as you did with her. They are… necessary, for our queen's ascension. They are special to her. And with Miss Xiao Long acquired, that makes two that we will have ultimately claimed in the end."

"Of course. Who would you prefer I track down next?" Soren asked rigidly.

"Well, I think Miss Schnee would not be amiss, or Miss Belladonna, although she might be a bit trickier to track down. Hmmm… yes. Miss Schnee would be best. Although, its up to you. So long as we have all of them alive, I will be satisfied." Cinder cooed in a sultry voice, turning her attention to Yang.

"You are free to go Soren. Your comrades will still be here, waiting for you when you get back." Cinder said with a small giggle. "You do have a job to do after all. Our queen doesn't like to be kept waiting, and Miss Xiao Long here has a lot to think about in her loneliness, she could use some company after all."

Yang's only response was a weak attempt to bite at Cinder's finger, as she ran it along the table next to Yang's head.

"Oh, how cute." Cinder said with a chuckle. "She still has some fight in her after all. We need that perseverance in the end."

Soren gave a nod, and turned around. He quickly began walking back along the rows upon rows of metal tubes. He stopped for a moment, resting a hand on a tube with a small gem and adornment on it. "I'm sorry Marcus… this is the only option I have any more. I'm not even permitted to die." He quietly murmured this, and raised his hand away.

He begrudgingly walked out of the metal compound, and back up towards the bullhead, which was refueled and waiting on him. The faster he finished these jobs, the faster he could have his Legion back.

And the sooner he wouldn't have to walk past a mass grave every time he came to deliver another poor soul to Cinder.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this took considerably longer than i expected it to take. I had a lot of stuff to do the past month, and committed most of my writing time to my other Fic, Twin Shadows. But as you can see this is in fact not dead, and i will be continuing it. However i do think the chapters on this one will end up being a bit shorter than i intended. Oh well. Either way, let me know what you think, what i can do better, and have a good week.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Ice Queen

Chapter 3: The Ice Queen

* * *

Soren stepped out of the bullhead, and onto the icy expanse. The cold wind whipped snow up into his face, forcing him to pull the grey bottom of the cowl up. Only his eyes were exposed to the elements, though if everything went smoothly, even that wouldn't be more than a few minutes before he would be indoors, after his initial scouting mission that is.

Before he lifted off, the pilot gave him a beacon that he stuck into his pocket, the signal for his ride out of here when the job was done. At least this time he wouldn't have to carry a girl through a forest in the rain for a few kilometers before he got a pickup. Who knows, this one might even present a bit more of a challenge for him, one guy defending inside a small cabin didn't exactly win any medals for best defenses ever.

And oh boy was he in for a treat when the Schnee mansion came into view. Even from a distance, hidden by the small blizzard that was raging, as well as a few stray trees that allowed him some protection from view and the elements, he could see the wall around the premises.

It only rose about 3-4 meters high, too tall to climb normally, but not so big as to warrant a ladder or grapple if he could avoid something as high profile as that. He decided to walk around the outside, staying far away to avoid detection. He was looking for faults, cracks, breaks in the wall, anything that would be a defensive or structural weakness.

It was immediately clear to him why so many waves of Fang had failed to breach the outer defense of the Schnee mansion. Towers on every corner, Auto turrets lining the walls every dozen meters or so, and guards pacing the perimeter, some Schnee company affiliated, others brandishing Atlas logos. For a simple mansion, this place was built like a fortress, and it has the size to match it. The mansion itself was massive, 3 stories in height, and he couldn't even guess how long it was, only knowing that the complex was massive in scope.

After making a full round of the mansion's exterior, playing just along the edge of the auto turrets sensors, he reached his starting point. The only place that he knew he had any chance of getting in from was the gatehouse. Even that would not be simple, from what he saw there were no auto turrets, but there were far more guards, and the gate only opened when an authorized person approached, else it remained firmly shut.

However, guards could be tricked. With a brief use of his semblance, so long as he waited for a car to enter or leave, he could mask himself and sneak in that way, allowing him to execute the rest of his plan. However, that was the hard part, waiting. Until a car decided to leave, there was no point in trying, and while he could handle a direct assault, that only increased the chances of his target getting away, or of him making a critical mistake that costs his life.

Best to just wait it out, as much as he preferred not waiting in this half-blizzard. He took shelter under a tree that was as close as he was willing to go near the gatehouse, and sat down. He watched the gatehouse closely, looking for any sign of change. This was going to be a long wait.

* * *

Hours later, something finally happened. He watched as the gate slid open slowly, and a limo pulled out of the drive. The moment that the limo was fully out of the gate and heading down the road, it started to slowly close.

"Looks like Mr. Schnee isn't interested in joining in on the fun." Soren muttered with a smirk, standing up as he watched the flagship limo of the Schnee corporation mosey down the road and out of view in the snowstorm.

He moved quickly, thankfully someone was too lazy to shut the gate in any timely manner. He shut his eyes, standing relatively close to the gate now, and plunged his sword into the ground. The grey mist burst forth, flowing out from around him and gravitating towards the mansion. Within a few seconds, the mist had veiled the entire gatehouse, as well as most of the front of the mansion.

Soren ripped his sword backup from the ground and ran forward. With the help of the storm, as well as the mist making his figure fade, the guards didn't even realize he was there until he was already through the gate. Even then, they didn't know where he was, or what he looked like, the conditions rendering it impossible for a visual identification. All the cameras saw was a darker patch of mist, moving through the blurry conditions.

Soren knew the confusion wouldn't last however, already hearing some quiet alarms going off somewhere near the gatehouse as he moved further away, to one part of the wall. He scaled the back of the wall easily with the stairs reserved for the guards, nothing more required than a single slashed open door to gain access. There, he pulled a handful of small explosives from inside of his cloak, latching them on the bottoms of several turrets. He planned on getting out without getting shot down.

He snuck back down from the wall, and back into the somewhat fading mist. The guards were fanning out into the courtyard now, searching for the trespasser. Soren brandished his great-sword and dagger, rushing forward and letting himself be revealed briefly to the closest guard, who was in his way of getting inside.

The poor man didn't get the time to react before Soren slammed his sword down, crumpling the soldier to the ground like he was a tin can. Soren didn't bother looking back as he kept running and crashed through a window next to the giant oaken front doors.

He recovered and brushed himself off, taking a moment to look around at his surroundings while the brief confusion continued outside.

The entryway of the Schnee mansion rose all three stories of the mansion, stopping at the roof with a large skylight, embezzled with the Schnee family crest in the glass. The design was repeated on the far end of the room, above the ornate grand marble staircase that rose up all three floors as well.

He shook his head slightly and refocused, now was not the time to gape in awe at the large house, he was going to have to search the entirety of it to find his quarry after all.

He went down the first corridor to the left of the hallway, hearing the guards come crashing through the door behind him and into the entryway just as he got out of view. "Which way did he go, find him now!" One of them shouted, a moment later and alarm sounded throughout the mansion. If people didn't know he was here before, he certainly was known now.

He started checking rooms quickly. Empty, empty, empty, a scared butler, empty, empty, several staff members that were prepping a meal in the kitchen. None of the rooms in this wing had anyone of value in them. He ran around the next corridor, and was met with a door leading out to an inner courtyard.

He stepped out quickly, but the door shut behind him a moment later. Suddenly the once empty courtyard filled with several guards, and a white haired woman with her hair tied in a bun came walking forward slowly from the door at the opposite end of the courtyard. Her uniform held against her body tightly, showing off her curves. Her overcoat floated slightly behind her in the weak wind that passed through the courtyard. She held a saber in one hand, the other held behind her back. With each step forward her boots clicked against the ground. "So, our little assailant seems to have sprung our trap. Tell me, did you really think it was a smart idea to enter a fortress alone?"

"I prefer to perform all of my hunts alone, so I only have to rely on myself to get the job done.' Soren responded somewhat coldly. "Winter Schnee I presume?"

"Indeed. And you… I don't know you. You aren't on any wanted list, are not a previous enemy of the Schnee family or of Atlas. You are an anomaly. Who are you?" Winter asked questioningly, raising her saber up and pointing it at him.

"That is an answer I might give if you fight me for it." Soren growled. He didn't have time for this, every moment lost was another moment his target could escape.

Winter shrugged slightly. "Suit yourself. Kill the trespasser." Winter said simply, stepping back as the handful of guards rushed at him.

Soren smirked under his cowl. Even the Schnees used predictable tactics, throwing men at him like money. Not his first outnumbered fight, not even by a longshot. These simple soldiers rushed him with swords and light rifles. As soon as they opened fire he rolled into one of them, grabbing him by the collar and flipping over his shoulder, slamming his great-sword down onto another behind him.

The latter sank down in agony, and the one he grabbed carried his momentum and was flipped over him, sailing into a pillar at the edge of the courtyard. He rammed his shoulder into another guard rushing him, decking him instantly. He spun around and blocked a sword strike by another guard, the saber bouncing off of his own blade easily. He knocked it away and kicked that guard in the gut once, then grabbed him by the hair and slammed him into the ground. The last guard tried to do something, anything, but Soren simply charged him and dropped him with a single uppercut. He turned and faced Winter immediately following. "Is that all?"

"Well, it seems you do have some merit to you after all. Let's see how long you last then, shall we?" Winter said confidently, readying herself once again.

She stood there still for a moment, before rocketing towards him. Soren barely managed to raise his great-sword in time, having to backpedal slightly in his surprise. He blocked attack after attack after attack, slowly losing ground. He had to go on the offensive.

Winter made a mistake however. In the midst of her attacks, she let Soren slide his dagger back out of its strap on his thigh, gripping it tightly in his offhand until he saw his opportunity. One sideways strike, aimed for his torso. His hand shot up, the curved blade of the dagger caught Winter's saber snugly in the hook. Now was Soren chance to turn the tables.

With the blade caught, he shoved it away, throwing Winter off balance and delivering a kick to her gut, then a slash at her torso, which her saber barely caught on its recovery, slamming both blade into her sideways, eating up a massive chunk of her aura. He let her stagger backwards, struggling to recover herself.

It seemed to him she hadn't been punished that hard for a mistake that small in a while. But he wasn't going to pity her that much, he still had a target to catch, and she was in the way of getting to said target.

He let himself take a few steps back, flipping his dagger in reverse. It was time for him to finish this in one combo. He ran forward, and as Winter recovered, readying to bock his strike, he let himself drop sideways, landing on the curved point of the dagger and bringing his great-sword around in a massive sweeping arc, putting all of his momentum and weight into the strike.

It connected with Winter's readied blade, staggering her again. Then he spun backwards, sweeping the blade at her legs. Winter was knocked off of her feet, her aura flickering. His final hit came when he pushed himself up from his low sweeps across the ground, surging into the air above her and doing several sideways spins in midair, finally bringing the blade crashing back down on her with incredible force.

Winter barely raised her saber, holding it tightly over her body, a mistake. The blade slammed into it. And while the hit was slightly off target, it still connected with her saber, shattering the last of her aura, and making it jam into the ground next to Winter with a loud SNAP.

Rex's blade sunk into the ground next to Winter's head, and he looked down at her. He too had heard the snap, but didn't quite know what had occurred until he saw Winter's hand hanging limp, unresponsive to her in any way past the elbow.

"AAAAAAGHHHH!" Winter let out a blood curdling scream, grabbing a hold of her arm gently and curling up slightly, trying to protect the broken limb with her body. She held it close to her chest, looking up at her combatant. "You… you…"

"You should have stepped aside, Schnee. It's your sister I need." Soren said coldly. He wrenched his blade back from the ground next to her, raising it up.

Winter winced and shut her eyes, waiting for the end to come. It never did.

Soren shouldered his blade, looking down at her with a blank expression on his covered face. "Don't wait for an end that isn't coming." A dark voice in Soren's head told him he should, she's just a loose end, interfered with the mission, possibly compromised it, but he fought that urge back, he still had some shred of honor left not to execute a defeated opponent.

"Why…why not end me?" Winter asked weakly, still clutching the broken limb.

"Two reasons." He said as he walked past her, towards the door she was blocking previously. "One, I still have enough of my soul to not kill in cold blood, and two, I never told you my name. If you ever need a reminder on why you can still get better, remember the day you almost lost everything to Soren Gra." He walked through the door and left her in silence, lying on the courtyard floor, clutching her wound.

* * *

He started moving much more briskly through the corridors than before. He had lost a lot of time already, and every empty room only furthered his annoyance.

Finally, however, he cleared the majority of the first floor. The only room left was a grand ballroom. He pushed the door open and stepped inside the grandiose chamber. The room was massive, ornate dust crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, carpet lined the room. In the center however, was a sight he was more than glad to see. Weiss Schnee stood in the center of the room, flanked by two Atlesian elite guards.

Without hesitation, the two guards attacked, on brandishing a sword and rushing him, and the other opening fire with an assault rifle.

Soren was forced to duck, dive and roll out of the way of the bullets. But the time he recovered the other guard was practically on top of him, taking lethal swings at him. Soren managed to block, but with the other guard shooting at him, it was difficult to find an opening. Finally, however, he managed to get the swordsman in between him and the shooter, forcing the latter to stop firing.

He got his opening, bashing aside the guard's blade with his much heavier one, he then raised it up and made the guard crumple under the heavy flat of the great-sword. Then he rushed towards the other guard, dodging around his wild volley and grabbing him. He slammed him into the ground, rendering him unconscious.

He then turned towards the last person in the room, sitting back up and shouldering his blade again. Weiss looked at him, dressed in her dark blue and white gown. She looked somewhat like a princess, but that didn't really matter to him. All he saw in her was just another step towards getting his legion back.

The intimidating look in Soren's eyes didn't seem to deter Weiss, as she raised Myrtenaster, although Soren could see her hand quiver slightly. She knew she wasn't as good as he was, and she was backed into a corner with that knowledge.

Soren smirked at her weak attempt of confidence. "Now, now Weiss, I don't want to have to fight if I don't need to. I need you alive after all. Simply give up, you know you will lose. Spare me the effort."

"I… will never go quietly…not while I still breath." She said slightly fearfully, almost not believing the words herself as Soren started slowly walking forward.

"Oh please, don't make me break you like I had to break your sister, or your blonde teammate." Soren said, a sinister grin coming to his face behind his cowl.

"Y-yang… Winter? You… you didn't…" She teared up slightly, then she frowned. "You hurt them! I... I won't let you hurt me, or anyone else! Not Ruby, not Blake! Not even Jaune!" She said defiantly, getting angrier and angrier. "No one else!"

A massive white glyph appeared on the ground between them, forcing Soren to backpedal. It spun faster and faster, until it was a blur. Suddenly, a massive glowing white knight with an equally massive sword erupted from the ground, climbing out of the glyph and standing in between the two of them.

Soren stepped back, looking up at the towering knight in awe. "Well… I _certainly_ wasn't' informed she could do _that_." He muttered under his breath. Now he had to best a giant knight that was at least 10 times his size, wonderful.

The knight wasted no time in slamming his blade down, Soren was just barely able to dodge out of the way in time to not be squashed. The knight kept following his movements, relentlessly trying to smash him with the edge and flat of the huge sword it wielded, every time, Soren managed to get out of the way with quick dodges and rolls.

Soren tried to find some kind of weakness in the knight between swings, but the only thing he could see was the joints, which were too high up to just run forward and risk getting stepped on. Maybe a bit higher… perfect.

The next crash that came down allowed Soren to jump on top of the blade after dodging, running up it and up the Knight's arm. He reached the shoulder, and slammed his sword into the shoulder joint of the knight, hanging on for dear life as it thrashed to try and dislodge him.

Finally, the knight wizened up, and reached up to grab him off of its shoulder and throw him off. Before its hand made it to him, Soren pulled his blade back out and scaled its head, standing on top of it and jumping onto one of the chandeliers in the room.

The knight tried to swipe at him with its now slightly damaged and defunct arm, the sloppy hit missed, only knocking the chandelier down as Soren jumped to another, one that was higher up. From this high, Soren could see the glowing white light coming from inside its mask, that had to be a major weak point.

He jumped from chandelier to chandelier, dodging around swings and getting as high as he possibly could. He got to a point where he thought he was far enough up, very close to the ceiling of the ballroom. The knight was directly underneath him, readying for another strike.

Soren acted first however, gripping his great-sword tightly and leaping off of the chandelier. He pointed it downwards, and came careening into the knight, plunging it instantly to the hilt in its mask. The knight made some form of groaning noise as it came crashing down, shattering into millions of tiny white fragments. Soren was breathing hard, but he had beaten it.

He turned towards Weiss, who had lifted her rapier up. It was visibly shaking now, she had reached as far into her bag of tricks as she could, and it hadn't mattered in the end. She was exhausted from the effort it had taken to summon the knight as well, and its toll could be seen by the red exertion in her face and sweat beading down her forehead.

"Alright. I think we've done enough today, don't you?" Soren asked, dashing Myrtenaster away with a swift hit. Then he lightly put the tip of his blade to the floor. "Take a rest now, won't you?" A darker mist emitted from the ground, enveloping Weiss. She sputtered and coughed for a few moments, until finally she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Thank you." Soren said to her unconscious figure as the mist faded away. He grabbed her weapon, strapping it to his belt, then lifted her over his left shoulder, and hefted his sword on his right.

He strained a bit, but started walking. Just a few flights of stairs to the third floor balcony and he would be off.

He kicked open the doors from the ballroom to the main hall. The alarms were still going off, and two guards were at the far end of the room.

They turned when the door crashed open, and realized who it was, fumbling for their weapons as Soren took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Hey, freeze! Put her down!" They shouted as they pursued him.

He stopped on the second floor whirling around suddenly and booting the leader into the other one, sending them crashing back down the steps.

He took off back up the steps as they struggled to get up, grabbing their radios and calling for backup in their struggle.

Soren finally reached the third floor with his cargo, and sprinted down the corridor towards the balcony. He could hear shouting in the entryway far behind him, including that of Winter, who seemed to have recovered at least somewhat since their fight.

He burst out onto the balcony, and set the unconscious Weiss down gently on the ground. He pulled out the beacon with one hand and activated it. He had a limited time on his hands before he would be cornered, so he hoped it would come quickly.

He pulled out the detonator to the explosives he had planted earlier, grasping it in his hand as he picked Weiss back up again. Every second he held his breath, until finally he saw the bullhead in the distance. He clicked the detonator without hesitation, and the wall in front of him erupted in explosions, destroying the turrets in front of him and causing even more confusion.

The explosion bought him just enough time, as the bullhead pulled through the smoke and hovered just over the third floor balcony where he was waiting.

The doors opened up and he placed Weiss on the floor of the bullhead, and hopped up right behind. He hefted his weapon up to his shoulder, giving three hits on the side of the bullhead to signal the pilot.

The bullhead started pulling away right as several guards and Winter, still clutching her wrist, burst out onto the balcony. They were only able to watch as Soren escaped with Weiss.

Winter fell to the ground, tears filling her eyes. "Weiss… Weiss!" She croaked, slamming her good hand against the ground in rage and grief.

* * *

After the long flight from Atlas back to the valley, Soren carried the slowly awakening girl into the facility, passing amongst the rows upon rows of metal tubes.

As with last time, Cinder was waiting for him, although not as pale as she was prior. "Oh Soren, sweetie, come to bring me another gift?~ She cooed, getting up and sauntering towards him, a deadly smile on her face.

"I see you brought me a cold treat. Place her in the cell next to her pitiful teammate, I have some information for your next hunt, sweet Soren." Cinder smiled, and a chill rand down his spine.

"Yes ma'am" He said quickly, walking over to the cell next to the defunct Yang, who was sitting quietly, watching him drop her teammate down on the simple bed in the cell. He shut the door and locked it, then turned around with an internal groan and walked back to Cinder.

"Thank you dear. Now, your next target is going to be the ever elusive and so _very_ mysterious Blake Belladonna. Unfortunately, she is somewhat missing right now, but we managed to dig up a general area of her whereabouts." Cinder said gleefully.

"Wonderful. Where has the cat hidden herself?" Soren asked, extremely tired from his series of fights.

"Forever Fall. Coordinates will be given to you tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the evening." Cinder ran a finger along his chin, her eyes lighting up slightly. Soren very subtly gulped, trying to ignore the hot feeling of her finger. He stepped back slightly.

"Of course, I will do that ma'am." He said quickly, taking a seat against the wall nearby.

Cinder sighed. "Oooh, your no fun today Soren. No matter, perhaps tomorrow then.~" She said with a smirk, walking off to the other end of the facility.

Soren sat there in silence, he swore that woman would be the death of him, one way or the other.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! This got updated earlier than a month! What is this heresy? Seriously though, i dont plan on leaving this hanging nearly as long as i did between 1 and 2. Ive gotten back on track and am going to be updating more frequently again now that im settled back into college. As usual, let me know what i can do to improve my writing, and thoughts on the story so far. Have a great week.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Cat and the Wolf

Chapter 4: The Cat and the Wolf

* * *

The next day, Soren was prepping himself for his next hunt, and he figured this one would be the toughest one yet.

His target was elusive, now having not been spotted for days. He only had a general area in the forest of Forever Fall that was where she was believed to be. He was going to have to comb every inch of the forest by himself.

At least he would normally. For a hunt such as this however, he acquired a couple of extra armaments thanks to his forced employer. Several motion triggered cameras that would stream video when something passed in front of their view. He also had a handful of trip wires, several launchers and ejectors, two nets, and a dozen or so bolas. These were on top of his mist, his paralyzing bullets, and the two bindings that he was bringing with him. He was taking this hunt seriously, he wanted to make sure she didn't get away, regardless of how fast, how elusive, and how many tricks she had in her arsenal.

As he finished loading the rest of the supplies, he heard the familiar sound of heels clicking, and he groaned internally. He whirled around, and as he thought, Cinder Fall was approaching him, scroll in hand. He snapped to attention, more standing up straight and still than anything else, as she walked up to him.

"Ah, sweet Soren, I see you are all ready to go after your next target. I hope all of that equipment I've provided you helps." She cocked a half smile and stared him dead in the eyes.

"Of course it will ma'am. This should be more than enough with my talents." He replied, masking his unease around her well.

"As expected, you treat me _so_ well with your efficiency, it's admirable." She put a hand on his cheek, and it felt hot, like there was an intense flame burning underneath it. "Almost… rewardable. But, with that in mind, there is one last thing that I should inform you of that might… complicate things a bit on this outing."

He fought his urge to push her hand away, as well as ignore her sly innuendo. She was indeed beautiful, but a woman that dangerous is not someone he was interested in getting any more involved with than necessary. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"An…associate of mine, Adam Taurus, is also searching for Miss Belladonna. We do believe he has the same location for her as we do, so expect them to either take Miss Belladonna for themselves, or fight you for her. And they won't fight fair." She showed him a picture of Adam on her scroll. The blood red hair, all black garments, and signature sword were standout to him, as well as the bull horns on his head.

"Hmmm, I see. And you said he is an associate of yours? Why would he be an issue?" Soren asked.

"Was, an associate. When tasked with this mission, he became quite… hostile with my plans for the girl. He wanted revenge on her for betraying and hurting him, as well as his organization the White Fang. My plan for her, as well as the others… doesn't allow him to exact what he wants. So he broke away. That in all honestly was more of a minor annoyance for me, his job was already done. It would have been helpful to have his men around to do more heavy lifting, but with loyalists to me now being a factor, I don't need them any longer." She smiled dangerously, finally pulling her hand away, which had been caressing his cheek the whole time. "Now that being said, you may do what is necessary to get him out of the picture if he interferes. If that means killing him, well… a shame then, his usefulness has run its course."

"Understood. So get the girl, by any means necessary. Everyone else is expendable." He summed up.

"Precisely. Oh, I just love working with you. I never have to repeat myself or answer inane questions!" She said happily.

"I do my best to pay attention." He replied.

"And that is something a _very_ much appreciate. Of all of the hunters in her realm that she could have grabbed for my task, she gave me you. I could not be happier with our mutual leader's decision. Now, off with you! Bring me back the next prize. I know you will do as well as always." Cinder said with a hint of glee in her voice.

Soren nodded. "Yes ma'am." He gladly got in the bullhead, ensuring all of the necessary supplies were secured. It lifted off a moment later, and he was finally away from Cinder. Now all that was left on his current agenda was tracking down a girl with highly elusive talents that had no intention of being found, and an angry faction leader who was hunting for her as well that could be in the way. Wonderful.

* * *

The flight was a short one, the valley that had contained the facility sat right up against the forest of Forever Fall. The bullhead had touched down in a bed of ruins, flanked on either side by large cliffs that seemed slightly irregular for the region, suddenly cutting off the forest on this side.

These woods spoke to him, made him think, but he had to shake his head and try and refocus. Now was not the time to remember the past, he was here for a different reason, and his prey would not wait for him to take his sweet time.

He hopped out of the bullhead and pulled out the supplies, setting them around the ship. He picked up the camera, and their connective devices.

He took off into the forest with them, stopping every so often and placing the small devices on tree trunks, branches, anything that was sturdy enough to hold them and dark enough to mask them enough to only be seen up close. Each time he placed one, he inserted a tiny chip into each one, activating them and linking them up to the larger chip in his hand.

When he was finished, he had placed 9 cameras all throughout the sector Blake was supposed to be in. Hopefully she wouldn't have noticed his movements too much assuming she was around, he had kept himself relatively low profile, even leaving his massive sword at the bullhead to lighten his footfalls.

A short walk later and he was back at the bullhead again. He retrieved the trip wires, some of the bolas, the nets, and the launchers. While heavy, he managed to carry them all, albeit a bit awkwardly. As he went back through the section of the forest again, he started placing and planting the traps as he went, laying the trip wires along the ground and even in branches, creating artificial choke points with them.

He connected the wires to launchers, stuffing bushes, hidden in branches, and loaded with the two nets, bolas, and even some of his paralyzing slugs. He smirked as the last one was locked in place, and carefully made his way back, avoiding all of the traps that he had set.

When he got back to the bullhead, he pulled out a large tablet scroll and inserted the chip into it. Instantly all of the feeds for the cameras came up, blacked out as he expected. They wouldn't turn on until something passed in front of them, so until he got a confirmed read, he was going to be staying put here, and the sun was setting quickly. He would be spending the night here it seemed.

* * *

Blake was jumping from tree to tree, quietly following the grey clad man as he was placing things through the forest. He wasn't sure who he was, or why he was setting cameras and traps in the forest. What was he trying to catch?

They couldn't be for Grimm, as that was much more easily done by just walking through the forest and letting them come to him, but he did have the air of a hunter about him. She had seen several White Fang members in the forest the past few days. Possibly he was trying to get a read on them?

All of this pointless thinking was just to try and put her mind at ease however. Deep down, she had the sinking feeling that those traps and cameras were intended to find her. There was no reason anyone else would come to this far edge of Forever Fall unless they had an explicit purpose. It wasn't that close to the ruined Beacon, or Vale, nor was it near the coast or the Port of Vale. It was a piece of the forest with a lot more ruins than the rest of it, in the middle of nowhere.

No, he _had_ to be searching for her. Once she had made up her mind on that, she started paying more attention to where those cameras and traps were getting placed. Some isolated parts of the forest, forcing her to have to come up with paths completely alternate to ones she had used for weeks now. Others were easily avoidable, so long as she was careful and not careless. When the sun started to set and the man made his way back, she wanted to follow, but she had to tell herself now was the time to rest. In the morning she was packing up the few things she had and leaving, she didn't like the feeling she was getting, things in this region had been heating up too much for her liking.

* * *

Soren sat watching the cameras throughout the night. How many days had this been without sleep? 5? 6? At this point he didn't care, he was still running strong. Every so often his hopes would rise when a camera would flick on, the night vision mode revealing everything. However, they were usually just Grimm. Only once did it reveal anything remotely useful. Two Fang members, wandering through the forest.

One had gotten trapped in one of the two net traps, which made Soren curse under his breath. Those are hard to fix, he had a very limited number, and only alerted the Fang that they were not alone in their hunt. He hoped Blake would show herself soon. He was getting antsy waiting.

Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, around 5 AM, the camera flicked on for a moment, revealing a girl with raven hair, a long white coat cropped to her midriff, tight black pants and boots, and a black cleaver on her back, as well as a small backpack. He grinned. Finally, he had found his prey. Now only to catch her.

He could only be happier however, when he returned to the scroll after grabbing his sword and several bolas and the bindings. He checked the screens, and it seemed that Blake had made a mistake, as she was laying in front of one of the closer cameras, trapped in the other net, and struggling to get her weapon to cut her way out.

He knew it wouldn't hold her forever, but that bought him more than enough time, and he knew exactly where that camera and trap were located. He dropped the scroll, looped the bindings and bolas on his waist, gripped his great-sword and dagger, and ran off to pick up his prize before any Fang show up to take it.

* * *

It took him only a few minutes to get to where the net with his prize was located, and as he expected, right as he arrived, Blake had finished cutting her way out of the net.

Her head snapped towards him as he approached, and she was stepping out of the next. He could see fear in her amber orbs. She quickly fired off a handful of rounds at him from her weapon as it shifted forms. Then without looking she took off in the opposite direction of him.

He avoided most of the wild rounds, but the few that did find their mark merely bounced off of his armor with a grunt. They were far too weak to make noticeable damage across the chest plate underneath the layers of cloth.

He took off after her, unclipping a bola from his waist and beginning to spin it up as he ran. After a moment he chucked it at her, but Blake dipped behind a tree and avoided the projectile.

Soren pulled another from his belt, and spun it up as well, dipping and diving in between the trees behind her, keeping her in sight as much as possible. He launched this one as well, and it connected, but only got her in the arm, weighing it down somewhat.

A third bola was pulled, but as he spun it up, the two of them reached a dead end, where the unnatural walls of this part of the forest rose up and left them in a small clearing with trees surrounding it. Blake had disappeared in the trees in his brief hesitancy. He walked to the center, knowing there was only one way out. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty." He called out, taunting her.

He heard rustling in the trees, trying to track movement, but finding none. Suddenly he heard a cry behind him, and he whirled around, holding his sword sideways across body. He just barely managed to catch Blake as she used her entire body to slam into him, blades out in front of her and cutting for his throat.

They glanced off of his sword, but her impact forced him to roll backwards with her, shoving her off and making her do several summersaults to regain her poise. He rose and faced her, pulling his dagger out from his side, and holding the large blade in front of him. She was backed into a corner, and he could see the desperation and fear in her eyes.

She charged him again, and he swung the blade un a hard skyward arc, but she stopped just short, and he cut straight through her. At least so he thought.

To his surprise, his blade was lodged in a clone of the girl, made entirely of ice. His eyes darted around, now realizing she more tricks than anticipated. He was unaware she could do this with her semblance, now he was going to have to be on the back foot with every stroke, as he tugged on his blade. He yanked it out just in time as Blake struck again, a spinning slash with both portions of her now detached blade that he barely caught with the edge of his sword and dagger.

She lunged again, this time jumping high above him and leaving behind a fire clone. A moment later it exploded in his face, sending him crashing to the ground. Blake didn't waste time slamming both heels down on his chest, winding him with a grunt. Another clone appeared, this one made of ice. It froze on top of him, pinning him against the ground. Finally, the real Blake showed herself again, putting Gambol's katana portion to Soren's throat. "Who are you and why are chasing me? What do you want from me? Answer quickly, before I skewer you like a fish." She breathed out, exhausted from her high semblance usage.

Soren just chuckled. This girl had more to her than he thought, and he respected that. A shame he still had an obligation. His chuckling turned into a deep laughter from his chest.

"What are laughing at? Answer me!" She almost shouted this time, her brow furrowing and her lips going to a frown. She pressed the tip of Gambol closer to his throat.

"Blake Belladonna. You have more than meets the eye don't you? I like that. But you are asking these questions assuming you have the cards, all the angles covered." He let out a contented sigh. "You have no idea how wrong you are."

Soren's dagger had quietly been sinking into the ground, and when he opened his mouth again, the pale grey mist emitted from his mouth and where the blade stuck into the ground, quickly shrouding the two of them, and putting Blake into a haze.

Soren used the opportunity to get leverage on his great-sword, and brought it up, shattering the ice clone on top of him. Blake didn't get the time to react in her surprise, and suddenly found her cleaver getting knocked away, and she was kicked back as Soren got up, letting the mist fade around him.

She pulled herself up, clutching her katana tightly, she only had one trick left up her sleeve and she was low on aura and energy from exerting herself and her semblance so much. She wound the ribbon up over her head, and launched the other portion of Gambol at him as he charged towards her.

He ducked out of the way, and it shot past him. He was confused as to why she threw the blade at him, but a moment later he realized her game as the ribbon went taught. His offhand shot up, wrapping the dagger around the ribbon as it was pulled back towards her, as well as his back. Like he expected however, with the ribbon wrapped around the dagger, the weapon gravitated towards his outstretched hand, and was caught by the dagger's curved blade, getting nestled firmly inside. He grinned as her eyes widened in shock.

He yanked on the ribbon, pulling her towards him and making her stumble, then he took the last few steps forward and yanked the ribbon from her hand. He dropped the dagger, great-sword, and the other piece of Gambol Shroud, and quickly wrapped an arm around her neck and eased her down to the ground, first to her knees, then on her stomach.

He released her neck, even while she struggled to get out of his grasp, placing a knee on her back and pulled both of her resisting arms behind her back. Grabbing one set of bindings from his belt, he latched both solid metal cuffs around both wrists, stacking them on top of each other. Still keeping his knee on her back, he turned towards her legs. He pulled the other set of bindings from his waist and bound her legs. This pair had a thin chain between both metal cuffs, allowing for some movement of her legs, but not much.

Finally, he stood up, and pulled her into a sitting position. She was essentially immobile, and he walked back over and retrieved his own weapons, picking them both up and collecting the pieces of Gambol as well. He set both pieces of her weapon to her side, not that she could reach them with her hands bound behind her. He kneeled in front of her and stared her in the eyes, her amber ones looking into his grey ones. "Now, listen to me carefully. You are going to walk with me back to my ship, where you will be boarded. You try and run well… you won't make it very far with those things locking you up. Am I understood?"

Blake nodded quickly, fear evident in her eyes. She wanted to defy him, to refuse and sit there, but she also knew there was no use in trying at this time. She was going to have to do what he said until she could think of something.

"Good. Now, let's get going." He said. As he was about to pull her up however, he heard footsteps behind him, and he whirled around. Several yards away, blocking the exit of this tucked away valley, were several people. All but one had grey and black uniforms, a wolf head with three claw marks emblazoned red on the front of their uniforms. They wore black hoods and white masks, looking vaguely like Grimm masks. The one in the middle had a much more detailed mask, red accents intermixed that matched his crimson hair. He wore full black and had a katana already brandished in front and slightly to the side of him.

"I don't know who you are, but she belongs to _me_." The man growled out, stepping forward.

Soren looked at the man with a smirk. He subtly pushed his sword into the ground, letting it slowly sink deeper. "Adam Taurus. I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with you." He half growled. "If you could kindly get out of the way, and let me take what I was sent to retrieve, then we won't have a problem. But that isn't going to be how this goes, now is it?" He leaned forward slightly, pushing the great-sword further in the ground. He could feel the power welling up underneath.

"No. It's not. Blake is mine to deal with, and she will be coming with me." He said, pointing his katana at Soren. "Kill him." He commanded his men.

The eight men flanking him started to move, but Soren had won this bout from the start, and he released all the power of his semblance that he had been letting stack up, plunging the area in a thick grey mist once again. All around Adam, as he searched and turned, hearing noises being made and cries from his men, he couldn't pinpoint what was happening until the mist started to clear.

As it finally cleared, he realized that his 9 to 1 advantage was completely gone. His men were scattered about in front of him, and around him as well. Some were just on the ground unconscious, another was up against a tree, one was clutching a deep wound in his shoulder, laying on his back some ways away. He gripped his katana tighter, and looked at Soren, while he couldn't see his eyes, he knew there was even more hatred burning in them now.

"You… will pay for this." Adam then charged him, his hair lighting up.

Soren did the same, rushing his with both weapons banished. They clashed for several minutes, Adam's faster strikes were blocked, countered, or dodged by Soren's quick reactions and twin weapons, every hit met by the dagger, the sword, or air. Adam grew increasingly frustrated, and let out an angry battle cry as he fought even harder, pressing Soren for every attack and movement.

The both of them were tiring, but Soren could tell Adam was feeling exhaustion far faster than he was. However, a moment later, he froze. Timer seemed to slow down as Soren felt a thrust from Adam's sword pierce through his mail below his chest plate. His eyes bulged slightly in surprise. A moment later, the sickening sound of flesh against metal was heard as Adam withdrew the blade, letting Soren fall to his knees, then face first, sprawled on the ground.

"I told you, you would regret this." Adam said smugly, flicking his blade and turning towards Blake. "And he left you all tied up for me, my love. Like a Christmas present." He started stalking towards her.

From his face down position, Soren could hear voices in his head. One was furiously telling him to get up, finish his mission. He had an obligation to Salem and Cinder. They could do far worse than this of he was returned to that realm a failure. The other voice reminded him that this was wrong. This wasn't who he was, he could suffer, let these kids be free? Was the legion really worth dooming them? To him, it almost was. I felt morbid hunting down these kids, but he had no other option. It was this, or back to his eternal hunt in Salem's realm, endlessly wandering through hordes of Grimm, reminders of his last moments in his willing life.

The dark voice seemed to win out this time, and he tried to pull himself to his feet, but the pain was immense and to seemed impossible to him. However, he had neglected to consider the place that he had fallen. Even still it held power from its previous citizens, and the wind suddenly picked up, subtly at first, but getting harder and harder each second. The blood red leaves of the trees were whipped up, some breaking off from their branches and swirling around him, forming a vortex of red that seemed to mix together into a continuous stream at first, then pushed its way back into him, sealing his wound and breathing renewed power into his body. 'So this is what it felt like to have the people nourish you.' He thought as he stabbed his sword into the ground again and pushed himself up, his blade catching fire suddenly.

He rose fully to his feet, pulling the burning blade back out, embers falling off of it every which way. He pointed it at Adam, who was now next to Blake, both of their mouths hung open. "Now, the girl." He muttered just loud enough for the both of them to hear him.

Adam pulled his sword back out again, and paced forward slowly, his expression hardening, trying to act like he wasn't fazed by the sudden resurrection of his foe.

Soren struck with lightning speed, rushing forward and then cutting low, planting his dagger into the ground and sweeping the burning blade at Adam, slapping the sword out of his hand with far more force than Adam could counter with. The reverse sweep came soon after, cutting across Adam's chest, and with the hit of the blade and burning aura around it, Adam's aura fizzled out instantly. Finally, Soren lunged in the air, doing two twists before slamming the sword down on Adam, instantly knocking him to the ground and plunging the long end of the sword across his torso.

Adam let out an ear piercing scream as the burning blade sank only a part of the way in, cauterizing the flesh with the heat as he pulled it back out. He walked around to Adam's face, kneeling down in front of him. "On this day, you suffer because you crossed paths with me. You will never be the same after this. I can tell you that much. The only reason you live, is because I take pity on those who make the mistake you did, and prefer not to kill those that are brave enough, or stupid enough, to meet blades with me. Remember this day."

He stood back up again, and walked over to the wide eyed and gaping mouthed Blake. He grabbed her weapon, put both pieces back together and strapped it over his shoulder. He placed his sword on his back, firmly locking it in place, and his dagger strapped back to his side. He pulled her to her feet. "Time to go. Start walking." He said calmly.

She nodded her head absentmindedly, and began shuffling her way out of the clearing, being led by him from behind.

* * *

A while after she watched Adam be nearly killed in front of her, Blake finally snapped from her shock, and returned to the panic of being captured. She wanted to try and run, scream for help, something. But she knew running was not possible, screaming likely would just lead to her going unconscious, then she would be captured and lost. She had to try something however, it was completely stupid and had almost no hope of working for her, but maybe she could get him talking, possibly make him question if this was worth it to him.

"Why… why me?" She asked hesitantly. "Why go after me, some poor faunus girl hiding in the woods? Of everyone in the world, why me?"

She heard him sigh, then stop. He tugged on her brace behind her back, forcing her to stop as well. "Truth be told, that reason is still elusive to me. I don't know why. All I know is that you are wanted, as well as the rest of your team by my… employer." He stated.

"But who would want us? Were just students!" Now she was worried. He was tracking down her team as well? How many had he captured, was she the first? She only got more uneasy by the minute.

"I don't suppose you have heard of a woman by the name of Cinder Fall, have you?" He asked her.

"I…Cinder…oh no…nonononononono…" She muttered out.

"I thought so. Yes, she is the one who wants all of you. For what purpose, I do not know. I was never told, nor was I going to ask. You don't just ask Cinder for more information than necessary to get the job done." He replied.

"But, what's in it for you? Why take such a terrible job?" She cried out.

"Sit down." He pushed her down on her butt, resting her back against a tree. He then sat cross-legged in front of her, leaning forward slightly. "I hate this job, but I don't get much say on the matter, I'm doing this because I have to. Over 3,000 people are riding on me pulling them out from what is essentially a living nightmare for them. They are dead, but not dead at the same time. They were my former legion. I lead them into battle, until one day we finally fell. That is what I do this for. That, and I have no choice, I'm being forced to. A part of me that… isn't exactly me it telling me to do it...It whispers in the back of my mind, keeps me focused and always on this path, task to task. It was placed there, so while it is me… it's a piece of me that was created, forced into me. I hate it, but I can't overpower it and get it out of my mind."

"Oh…you…how…old are you?" She asked hesitantly, she couldn't think of anything quite like what he described in his answer that reminded her of anything that she had ever read in history, recent or hundreds of years ago when history began to be recorded.

"Truth be told; I have no idea any more. When I…died, the first time. I was 28. Now…well I lost track in that realm when I hit 1,000. What I had to do there… I would prefer not to speak on it for now. But I was pulled out, and I want to take the others out of that nightmare just as badly."

"But… you predate recorded history then, older than some of the ruins here and in the Emerald Forest even! How?!" She asked in surprise.

"I was essentially kept in a time chamber, but I felt each year go by, yet never aged. This place…I used to live here. These woods are far older than you would think. And records of it were lost to time. However, all the ruins, the abnormal rises in this particular area, they used to be a massive wall. The entirety of Forever Fall, and some of the Emerald Forest, was a massive, sprawling city that I had grown up in. However, it was not always the way you see it now. This forest used to be normal, yes. But when the Walls finally breached, when everything came crashing down… when I…failed. This place became the largest graveyard in the history of Remnant, as you call this earth. The trees are beautiful, yes, but to understand how they came this way is to learn the sinister truth." He recited, sadly recounting the history of the area.

"And… what is the truth behind them?" She asked hesitantly, almost worried about the answer.

"The truth is, these trees, the grass, all the red you see, they absorbed the blood of the hundreds of thousands slaughtered by Grimm in the city. So much so that it permanently changed their genetic structure to grow red at all times of year. Hence your appropriate name, of Forever Fall." He said sadly, brushing his hand along the grass.

"Oh my…" She gasped in horror, eyes darting wildly around at the previously gorgeous, not utterly terrifying scenery around her. "So does that mean… when you were… resurrected again in the clearing…"

"I was absorbing the blood of those I failed to protect. Yes. My legion had sworn an oath to protect the citizens of the city, even in death. Until the danger of this world has been eliminated, in this case the Grimm, so long as I am near this forest, and they are alive, I will have to keep rising, never getting rest until my duty is fulfilled. In this sense, I have two forces that will never let me find my peace." He finished, standing back up again. "Do you have anything else you want to ask me?"

"Only… why tell me this, why not just tell me to move along and shut up, like most would do?" She asked.

He raised her to her feet. "because when you are trapped in your own mind, with nothing to think about but your failure, and how many things will you have to fight today. You yearn for someone to talk to in any manner beyond 'do this. You need this to do this task'. I don't hate you, I feel sorry I have to do this. I am as much a captive as you are, only my captivity is internal, unlike yours. It was… nice to be able to exercise the shred of humanity I've held onto for so long all these centuries. Now please, keep moving. I still have a job to do."

"Alright." She finally conceded. She started shuffling along again. Her captor was an interesting one, she couldn't help but feel after hearing even a fraction of his story, he was more of a prisoner than she was. It almost saddened her, to know that he wasn't even doing this for money, or power, or just because he felt like it. He was someone who was trapped. But now the gears started turning. Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way for him to stop this, and break his mental shackles. It was bleak for her, but she had just a sliver of hope she could hang on to, so long as it didn't fade away.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this was my longest chapter for this fic yet. i actually had more planned for this chapter, but it ended up coming out far longer than i had expected, so the next chapter will have more content to it. All in all, this is the chapter i like the most. Let me know what all of you think, what i can do to improve, and as always, have a great week.**


	5. Chapter 5: Stories and Plans

Chapter 5: Stories and Plans

* * *

The walk back to the bullhead through the crimson wood of Forever Fall was a short one after their chat. Blake made no attempts to run or escape, spending the brisk but bound walk to the pickup location mulling over everything Soren had said, as well as trying to devise some form of a breakout plan.

She wasn't entirely sold on the idea of him assisting them in any way, but after his story, and seeing the things that he had done, his resurrection, the story of his past, him allowing her some insight on his own personal hell... all of them had made him a bit more human to her, and less of a cold blooded bounty hunter looking for the next quarry and paycheck.

But whatever was inside of him that was forcing him to abide by whoever summoned him… that could be difficult to work around. There had to be some way to break it, or at least suppress it. She had read ways of suppressing dark entities in some of her books before, but she just couldn't recall how, nor was she in any position to request for some reading. She would just have to hope something came to her, or that she devised some way of countering that variable, else any plan could fall apart easily without his assistance. He was just simply better than any of them in combat, never mind the fact that trying to kill him would be fruitless as he was essentially undead.

No, she was going to have to be crafty, smart, convincing, and have a bit of luck on her side if things were going to work the way the plan in her head was forming, as well as figure out who else had already been captured. If everyone but her was already captured from her team, she had some options, if they were willing to listen to the plan of the girl who had abandoned them that is. Else, things would only be harder for her.

As she was running ideas through her mind, the bullhead finally came into view. It was nestled in between two large rock walls. If Soren's story held true, those used to be walls of a city, like many of the odd rises and crags of rock in the area. Maybe if she could pick his brain about more of his past when she was back, if she got the chance however. Maybe that could work himself over enough to break down the barriers that made him continue doing this. It was a gamble, but it was all she had to work with.

"Alright, up you go." Soren said slightly gruffly as they stopped in front of the open side panel of the bullhead. She was immediately lifted over one of his shoulders, letting out a surprised yelp. He then used his free hand to lift the two of them into the bullhead, dropping her into a seat and strapping her in tightly.

Without another word, he settled himself in, banging on the wall of the bullhead 3 times. The bullhead doors shut as the engines fired up. Blake couldn't help but gulp as she watched her last hope of freedom close. She just had to hope that everything she was running through her mind could translate to reality, else the past few days would likely be her last free ones. And she had no idea how long she would have once they arrived… wherever they were going.

* * *

The bullhead touched down less then an hour later, and the doors slid open with a light 'Thunk'. Soren stood up and stretched briefly, before unstrapping her and pulling her to her feet. He then whispered in her ear. "Alright, just follow as you did in the forest. I myself don't know what she's planning but she seems like she wants all of you gathered before she does anything. You have some time left, I know you have been thinking about ways to escape, you seem a smart girl, and it's what I would do. So you better think fast." He pulled back and then pulled her out of the bullhead with him.

As they started walking along, Soren hanging on to her bindings tightly as they walked, Blake couldn't help but wonder if his words were a threat or an offer of assistance. She supposed she would find out soon enough. But she was hoping it was the latter, he had at least given her the dignity of walking herself, instead of dragging or carrying her.

The brisk walk led her down to a metal clad building, massive in size and scope. The doors opened wide, like an airplane hangar, revealing rows upon rows of metal tubes. They had something engraved in every single one of them on a tiny plaque, but she couldn't stop and read them as she was pushed along by Soren. He seemed to want to get past them.

After giving up, she looked forward to where they were heading, and just past all the tubes, sitting on a table, was Cinder Fall. Her eyes narrowed, but she knew she could do nothing. Cinder looked up as they approached, a smile on her face.

"Ah sweet Soren, I see you brought me the most elusive of the prizes!" She said with glee, walking forward to them. With each click of her heel on the ground, Blake internally winced, she already knew this was not a woman you messed with, she walked with purpose, knowledge, and power.

She stopped right in front of them, and put a hand on her chin. She wanted to bite at the woman, treating her like a model, or a plaything, but she knew internally that was a bad idea. Cinder then lifted her chin up slightly, seeming to look her over. Her eyes seemed to burn internally, and her touch felt hot. She shut her eyes and just hoped the moment would pass quickly, as Cinder continued to look her over.

"And in perfect condition too! Wonderful! I knew I can count on you to get the job done with the best results, as with the other two. Go ahead and put her in a cell by herself, if we put the three of them together the cell might get a bit cramped." She said happily.

"Of course ma'am." Soren replied. Blake could sense a masked stiffness to his voice. Almost like he was afraid of her, why would he be? He couldn't exactly be killed… could he?

She was pushed fairly forcefully forward. Much differently than the way he treated her before, probably because Cinder was watching. He opened the cage next to one that seemed to have two occupants in it. She just managed to catch the glimpse of white and golden hair. Weiss and Yang. Suddenly she was shoved inside, hitting the floor as the door slammed behind her. She let out a groan from the pain. She couldn't even sit up properly, as the bindings had not been removed from her ankles and legs.

She could however, still hear properly, and managed to roll over slowly to also get a glimpse of Soren and Cinder talking.

"Sweet Soren, I think after this hunt you deserve a break. The whole day tomorrow I'm going to be out, giving you some assistance in tracking down your next bit of prey. The final four have taken as a group, so it Is likely I will be providing some assistance for you. But until then, I must be off. Can I trust you will watch over these three and make sure they don't do anything naughty like try and break out while I am away?" She asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Yes, that won't be too much trouble." He replied, the same stiffness layered under his voice. Now she knew she wasn't just imagining it. She had to find out why he was scared, what did Cinder have over him?

"Wonderful, then enjoy your break. I will be back tomorrow." She gave him a wink, then turned and started walking out of the facility, heels still clicking icily as she left.

Once she was gone, Soren turned and knelt down in front of the cells, his back to them. He was looking out over all of the metal tubes that filled the room.

She managed to squirm around for a few minutes, until she was properly on her back, then a bit more work after that allowed her to sit upright. She scooted forward, until her boots were sticking through the bars of the cell, only stopped by the shiny chain around her ankles. She stared at him for a few moments, waiting to see if he would take notice, but alas, he was silent, not budging an inch.

"Hey." She called out, somewhat quietly, but loud enough to know that he could hear her cry.

He lifted his head up, turning towards her. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, a change from the lifelessness she had seen in them beforehand. She recoiled slightly, before doing her best to regain her composure. "Can I… ask you something?" She asked hesitantly.

Soren sighed. "I suppose I have nothing better to do, and talking is better for me than sitting here in silence, remembering everything by my lonesome. Frankly, I'm surprised you aren't as silent as your two friends here, they haven't been interested in giving a peep since I got them."

"Well, I'm not exactly in a position to do much else. I can either lay here on the ground, try and struggle to my feet with just my legs so I can lay on the cot, or try and talk. And neither of the first two seem like very interesting propositions. And besides, you proved to me in the forest you aren't inherently bad."

Soren slowly rose, dusting off the fabric around his waist as he did so, and then turned around. He approached her, setting his weapons against the wall near her cell. He sat back down about a foot away from her, crossing his armoured legs as best he could, resting on the floor like she was, even though there were several chairs and a table he could have pulled over from where Cinder had looked her over. "I suppose that is a fair assessment, what do you want to know. There is no one but me around for the moment, I can speak as I wish."

"Why are you so scared of Cinder? Aren't you, unkillable, or something of that nature?" She blurted the question out.

"Picked up on that huh? Well, the answer is simple, she one of the few who can kill me, that is why she was entrusted with me by my... Mistress? Queen? Captor? Yes, all of those could work in the right context." He responded thoughtfully.

"But how? I watched you get stabbed right through the gut by Adam, and it only took a few moments for you to rise again, with the help of the forest that is. What can she do that he can't?" She asked, confused.

"Well, I assume you remember my twin duties that I have. The one that rose me in the forest, and the one I was forcibly sworn to vow. In the forest, it was the duty I originally swore to my people, and hunting down you all, that is the duty I am sworn to by them. You remember both of these, yes?" He questioned her, the tiredness in his eyes evident by deep bags as he leaned forward slightly. His face was pale, almost like a ghost.

"Yes, I remember them. Why would it not work if Cinder killed you?" Blake continued her questioning.

"Well, stabs, cuts, scrapes, bites, things of that nature are easily fixed. But the vow that resurrected me in the forest can only work so long as there is something to resurrect. In Cinder's case however, with her power over fire, she can burn me to well… cinders. The magic isn't that strong. I would be once and finally dead. The vow broken, and the last of my line gone. It would be sweet peace for me, but now that I have the chance of having the legion I so cared about back, I can't just give up and leave them in the half state that they are in now." He gestured behind him, at the rows and rows of metal tubes that filled the floor space of the facility.

"W-wait, so you mean in those tubes…" Blake began.

"Are people. My people. Over 3000 in number, we were one of the last legions in my time who hadn't fallen to the Grimm scourge as it made one last push for our home city. When we were defeated… well, let's just say, none of us we even permitted to die properly. They are living a half-life right now. Their minds are toiling constantly, trapped in another realm, _her_ realm, through their souls. Like I had to, they fight Grimm day in and day out, never getting to tire, and if they fail, they just wake up again in the world and begin the process once more. They can never quit, never stop, they are always fighting, always dying, and always having to relive the horrors they faced over and over again." Soren said sadly, looking down at the floor between them.

"That is horrifying. But…that also means they are good fighters, yes?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"Yes, they were the best in their time. I only took the best in my legion. And now… now they have had over 1000 years to hone their skills. If I can get them back, and they all haven't gone insane, they will be far better than anyone on this planet in skill. The Grimm will know pain. And if I can get this damned curse beaten back, then I can seek my vengeance." Malice filled his voice as he spoke.

"They could be a boon. And… they are your reward for hunting us down?" She asked.

"In theory. I don't trust her; she has a silver tongue. But it's the only hope I have of saving them from an eternal living hell. So I'll play along until I can break free of my internal shackles. Not like I have much choice however. Every time I wanted to stop my chase of you all, I could feel it pushing me along passively. It made it very apparent this job was going to get done one way or another." He spat out, evidence he hated the thought as much as she did.

"Hmmmm… and this 'she' who is it?" Blake asked again, only getting more and more intrigued. A plan was already formulating in her mind, but it hinged on him being able to break his own shackles. She could see the cracks at the edges, she just had to break them down to fully commit him to their side. She also could hear movement in the cell next to her. She figured the other two were listening, at least Weiss was. If you were talking there was no way she could sleep.

"Ah yes, I probably should explain that little detail shouldn't I? Well, she goes by Queen, Mistress, the forgotten one, but I've always referenced her as Salem. This is her true name. I will never give her the satisfaction of referring to her by one of her titles without some form of hatred to it, no matter how veiled it might be. She took everything from me, and is operating me like a damn puppet now with her loyal pawns." It was obvious to Blake he held no love for this woman.

"And… where is she?" Blake asked once more.

"I couldn't tell you, her plane of existence is nowhere on this earth, which your modern age has taken to calling Remnant. But that is a blessing and a curse for her. She can grow her power in her realm all she wants, but she needs assistance getting to this one, which is where the likes of Cinder come in. She's planning something for you all, and it will probably bring Salem back to this realm. But I don't know what it is exactly that she plans to do with you to accomplish that goal. What I do know is if Salem returns, all the Grimm on remnant will be astronomically more powerful. The world _will_ crumble if she is allowed to return." Soren took a deep breath and sighed. "Which is what makes it all the worse that I'm forced to assist in bringing that about."

The rustling got louder, and finally a face poked out from the cell bars next to them. The flowing white hair, icy blue eyes, and standard frown were more than enough to inform her that it was Weiss Schnee. "So you are telling me you are gathering us up to bring someone to this world that… ends the world?!" Weiss asked somewhat shrilly, but it seemed slightly pitiful with how tired she looked and sounded.

"Yes. And I myself have absolutely no reason why it has to be you all, and have no internal or external choice on the matter. I am just as much of a prisoner as you all are, in a way. The only difference is I'm sent out to do the dirty work instead of lay here all day waiting to figure out what will happen to me. I have to be the one to bring you all in, against my own true wishes. The only thing I can retain on the hunts is my moral code of not killing needlessly. I have maimed, injured, harmed, but never killed yet. Although some situations made it rather difficult to pull that feat off." Soren didn't raise his head up or make any further acknowledgement of her presence.

"That is terrible. If you hadn't captured us and left us in a jail cell to wait for our times, I might almost feel sorry for you." Weiss said haughtily, the frown still not leaving her face.

"Weiss…" Blake trailed off. "He is the only one who has any way of getting us out of here. He is actually a kindhearted person when he doesn't have to act around Cinder. I mean, he is telling us all of this willingly, he feels shame and remorse, hatred for Cinder and the others, and he doesn't even have a truly free will either."

"indeed, I am essentially a shell of who I was. I'm still all here, it I can't exactly be me, not fully at least." Soren responded.

Weiss sighed. "Fine. But don't expect any favors from me. If and when we break out of here, consider my kindness towards you not putting Myrtenaster through your throat." She crossed her arms through the bars, then pulled her head back, undid her arms, and was gone.

"Well even in captivity, Weiss never fails to keep an ornery disposition to people she dislikes." Blake tried to joke to lighten the mood.

"I suppose I deserve it however. I did injure her sister, take her from her home and all that. I'm not surprised in the least." Soren sighed. "Regardless, it's getting late. I should probably get some form of rest. I might be essentially undead, but I still tire eventually." He rose up finally, and moved over to a cot that seemed to have been set up for him. He plopped down in it, not even bothering to remove his armour.

Blake wanted to wince, but then again, he probably didn't even care at this point, he could have been awake for days on end. She decided to focus on herself, scooching back away from the bars, and after a few attempts, some leaning against the wall and pushing up, she finally got to her feet. She then shuffled her way over to the cot in her cell, and fell down on it. The past two days had been exhausting, and she passed out almost as soon as her face hit the cot, even if it was more uncomfortable than the trees she had slept in back at Forever Fall.

* * *

The next day, Soren rose and stretched. The sleep had been much needed, and he couldn't have been happier with the rest he got. Normally he would have considered breakfast, but well… he had yet to be hungry once since his summoning to Remnant, probably an attribute of his undead state.

He checked over the three girls briefly, still all sound asleep. At least he wouldn't have trouble from them, not that they had any way of getting out of the thick iron bars with no weapons and little will.

He made one final round through the metal tubes, remembering the old days, before their tragedies. Then the clicking of heels rang through the facility once again, and Cinder approached him, smiling once again. "As sweet Soren, I see the day of rest was well taken, and all the girls are as they were left. Perfect. Today is a big day. The four remaining targets are traveling together, and as such, I have formulated a team to take them all down."

A grey haired boy, with large black boots, grey and black tunic and pants, and a cocky smirk on his slightly pale face came forward. Next to him was a dark skinned girl with emerald green hair, a brown holster around her waist, long tight brown pants that went just below her knees, and a top that exposed her midriff, as well as piercing crimson eyes. "This is Mercury…" Cinder gestured to the boy. "…And Emerald." She gestured to the girl. "They will be assisting you and me in splitting up and defeating the remaining four."

"I see. When do we begin?" Soren asked.

"Ah, don't even want to chat, get to know each other at all?" Cinder asked

"I wasn't summoned from a 1000-year hellhole to do small talk." Soren retorted.

"I like this guy." Mercury half whispered to Emerald, but it was fairly obvious to both Soren and Cinder.

"Quiet." Cinder scolded him, and he immediately snapped back to attention. "I suppose that is fair enough, off we go then." She turned and started heading towards the bullhead.

As the three followed her, Soren had to ask. "Who will be watching over the three we already have while we are gone?"

"I've assigned a few dozen guards to watch the place, they are entirely loyal to me, so there is no need to worry." Cinder said briskly as they went.

"I see. Good to know." Soren was silent the rest of the way up the hill to the bullhead.

"alright, we have a… fun day ahead of us. They have been spotted near Mistral. We can split them up individually. Soren, because you have done such a good job, you get first pick." Cinder said as the four of them got on the bullhead, and it started to lift off.

He thought for a moment. "I want Ruby Rose, might as well complete the set." He said with a grin. He had other plans in mind however, and getting the leader on his side was just the best way to do that. But Cinder didn't need to know that.

"Excellent. Then Mercury, you get Nora Valkyrie, and Emerald, you will have Lie Ren." Cinder said.

"Yes ma'am." They both responded in kind.

It looked to Soren like things might be able to come together, but only if he could get Ruby to listen to him after catching her, assuming he could that is.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all, this chapter was a little late, and possibly a bit more boring than the previous chapters because of the lack of action. But fear not there is plenty of that coming. There was a lot of good story here though. Let me know what you think, and ways to better my writing. As usual, have a great week.**


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